The Trump administration is considering an emergency
declaration that would allow it to make an arms shipment to Saudi Arabia
without the approval of Congress, two US officials and lawmakers opposed to the
move said Thursday.
The officials say a decision on invoking a national security
waiver in the Arms Export Control Act to bypass congressional review of
proposed sales to the Saudis could be made as early as Friday. The officials
were not authorized to discuss the matter publicly and spoke on condition of
anonymity.
It was not immediately clear what sales would be covered by
the possible waiver, which could allow previously blocked weapons transfers to
move forward or be applied to new ones. A sale of precision-guided munitions to
Saudi Arabia has been on hold for over a year.
Congressional opposition to US military support for Saudi
Arabia has been growing and lawmakers have blocked about $2 billion in arms
sales to the kingdom for more than a year due to concerns over civilian
casualties in the Saudi-led military operation in Yemen and outrage over the
killing of journalist Jamal Khashoggi in October by Saudi agents.
President Donald Trump last month vetoed legislation that
would have ended US military assistance for the Saudi-led war in Yemen against
Iran-backed rebels but administration officials have complained that sales
remain blocked. The law requires Congress to be notified of potential arms sales,
giving the body the opportunity to block the sale. But the law also allows the
president to waive that review process by declaring an emergency that requires
the sale be made “in the national security interests of the United States.”
Secretary of State Mike Pompeo, who would authorize the
waiver, has been considering the step for months, according to the officials.
But the matter has become more pressing in recent weeks due to what the
administration says are heightened threats from Iran and drone attacks on Saudi
oil facilities by Yemen’s Houthi rebels this week.
Sen. Bob Menendez of New Jersey, The ranking member of the
Senate Foreign Relations Committee, said Thursday that he would move to halt
any sales that arise from an exemption.
“I will pursue all appropriate legislative and other means
to nullify these and any planned ongoing sales should the administration move
forward in this manner,” he said in a statement. “The Congressional review
process exists so that the Senate can ask questions about whether a particular
arms sale serves our national interests and supports our values, including
human rights and civilian protections.”
Democrat Sen. Chris Murphy of Connecticut warned Wednesday
that the administration might use the “obscure loophole” to bypass
congressional approval.
“Trump knows he would lose a vote on the sale — Congress and
the American public object to selling these bombs to the Saudis,” Murphy said
in a series of tweets on the matter. “If there is an emergency, it’s a
humanitarian emergency caused by the bombs we sell the Saudis.”
There is precedent for using the emergency exemption for
arms sales to Saudi Arabia. President Ronald Reagan invoked it in the 1980s and
both Presidents George H.W. Bush and George W. Bush used it for sales before
the 1991 Gulf War and the 2003 Iraq war.
The State Department declined to comment, citing a policy
against discussing potential arms sales until Congress is notified.
